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February 2008 - Prayer Force and Teachings
Books and Tapes by Dr. Paul Kamanu |
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PRAYER FORCE
Drawing Power From Your Weakness
Our Prayer Force for this week might almost seem like an
oxymoron but it really isn’t. Drawing Power From Your Weakness is
actually God’s architectural design for each of His children who
accept the call upon their lives, to do all that’s planned
for their life. Every step we take and accept in our walk as a
believer has already been ordered by the Lord as told in Psalm 37:23, “The
steps of a good man are ordered (established) by the Lord; and he
delighted in his way.” Quite frankly, as believers in Yeshua we
must never complain about what we face or are called to do because we
represent our King. Listen, we represent Him personally!
We can probably list over a dozen times how and when the enemy opposed us and used weapons so strong that it seemed to make us very weak. In fact, we got so weak that giving up didn’t look like an option, it resembled a winning trophy. Yet, it is the power that is drawn from our weakness which is found in Abba that allows us to persevere and complete our assignment. Listen, there are times we resemble a “before” picture while going through whatever the enemy throws at us, but hold on, God’s about to snap your “after” shot in a little while! Smile dear one, smile because you can draw that power from your Father and Big Brother!
Today as we gather we all have testimonies that can sound like a bad
country western song of agony, brokenness and defeat, but change your tune
and words! Drawing Power From Your Weakness turns
a conflict into a victory, it allows each of us to see the awesome
display of Abba’s power, might and love for our
triumph. Today you can either decide to draw that line in the sand
and confront your adversary, or you can sit and whimper and allow him
to make you look like a fool. The choice is yours to make and you
cannot put it off. Today you can stand tall, square your shoulders and
declare that you are Drawing Power From Your Weakness!
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February 3 to February 9, 2008 Dealing
With Thorns “And
lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance
Throughout our lives we will have to learn to deal
with situations, circumstances or an adversary. Most people will
flinch when it comes to dealing with someone, especially an adversary
because confrontation may not be their best choice of issues. History
clearly teaches us that if things are left unresolved and matters are
not dealt with, your adversary will wear you out until you crash! You
and I must become confrontational, we must go on the offensive and never
back down or away from standing up for what is ours and what is
right!
Quickly, get this in your spirit, you cannot be
everybody’s friend! You have an enemy who hates you and wants to
see you fail and destroyed! He is very tenacious, he has stamina and
longevity, this joker refuses to quit. He is always on your case and
will summon all the help that’s needed to get you to tap out. You
better know how he operated, you best learn why he has been
given clearance to attack you, and most of all, what it is God wants
you to learn from this barrage of attacks. Stop whining and
complaining, your adversary is already a defeated foe because of
Jesus.
Your job is to learn the strategy of a
faithful believer in the Lord and just how you can become a warrior
who can utilize multiple weapons to fight your good fight of faith.
Notice that the Apostle Paul was given a thorn in the flesh,
this was something designed to impede his advancement for God’s
Kingdom. The man was assaulting satan’s Kingdom and the weapon that
was giving him victories were the abundance of revelations of
God’s word, will, plan, and ways. So how are you dealing with
the thorns in your flesh? There is a great lesson to learn here
saints, be open to the Lord and you’ll learn something.
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PRAYER FORCE
Keeping God’s Kingdom First
Our Prayer Force for this week will be a new subject for many
and perhaps a refresher course for others. We will discuss Keeping
God’s Kingdom First, a lesson that will bless all who are open
to setting priorities right, in and for their lives. The very first
thing our Lord did with the disciples was to give them instructions
for Kingdom Living, this was important because no one ever did it
before. You and I must learn, like they did, how to separate
this world’s kingdom from God’s Kingdom. Don’t
misunderstand what we are saying here, we are not talking about
coming to church, but understanding that God’s Kingdom is within
you and me and we carry it wherever we go.
God’s Kingdom is full of life, it is a Kingdom motored
and powered by the Word of God and declared by the children
or Son’s of God. Because of this we must see the
importance of safe guarding Kingdom assets and be careful of
what we say and do. According to God’s Word you and I have this
treasure sealed up in earthen vessels. Listen, where you go, the
Word goes with you! Now, because of this important point, satan
seeks to distract us and have us shift our focus and replace God’s
Kingdom as number one, with things that are not as significant
as God’s Kingdom’s.
God must be first, not somewhere else down our list of events dear ones. This becomes a struggle at first, but because your love for God is far greater than your love for self, you now understand how and why it should always be your desire in Keeping God’s Kingdom First. Satan dreads the Word of God, so doesn’t it make sense that because you carry and declare the Word, he will attack you to stop the Word (not you!) from being released. Hear me, without God’s Word in your life, you have nothing that the devil fears! I encourage you to use God’s Word throughout the day and in doing so you’re Keeping God’s Word First! |
February 10 to February 16, 2008 Praying
God’s Will “Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought: but the Spirit
himself
maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered.”
So
many people become frustrated because they do not get answers to their
prayers. Keep in mind that most of these people expect an answer that
they desire and as you probably know, it is not the will of God! As
believers, maturity teaches us that all of our prayers must align with
God’s will, which doesn’t mean that you cannot get what you
desire. God says that He will grant the desires of your heart, so He
delights in blessing His children, but as children of God we must be
accountable to our call to the Father.
As we study the lives of Yeshua and the believers in the First
Church, we will clearly see that they emptied themselves of things
that suited them and totally embraced the will of God. Here’s
a logical question that could be asked, Just What is the Will of
God? Answers will vary depending upon who you speak to, but the
true answer should be Following God’s plans! Can you see
yourself doing this? We are all called to follow God’s plans that
are for His Kingdom, we are shown what they are in the Word.
I believe most believers miss praying the will of God because they are
not in the Word of God! The Word of God is all encompassing, it takes care of you through all of eternity, but the problem is that a great percentage of believers do not embrace or consume the Word like we should. Saints, it is imperative we quickly get the Word into our spirit because Yeshua tells us that His Words shall not pass away. We have a loving Father who does not leave us clueless, instead He has placed His will into His Word for us to find and do. I urge each of you to get this Word into you and you will see changes occur like never before. Praying God’s Will should excite us daily saints, in doing so we please Abba! |
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PRAYER FORCE
SOLD
OUT FOR JESUS
When
we receive Jesus as Lord of our lives we must see it
as making a major investment that matures by the day. In our Prayer
Force for this week we want to deal with a subject called Sold
Out For Jesus. The book of Acts is truly a book of missions and
powerful missionaries. I enjoy studying it’s contents because it is my
desire to achieve what they did because it is a reflection on the Lord
that we serve. These men and women endangered their lives all the while
counting it joy to suffer for Christ. You see dear one, for them to be
this way clearly shows that they understood what it took, and the
commitment it takes to be Sold Out For Jesus.
I am encouraged by a young Hawaiian lad named Henry Opukaha’ia
who voluntarily left his family and friends and pursued after a life
filled with the Lord Jesus Christ. He was given the name Henry by
Captain Caleb Brintnall of the ship Triumph who headed off
to Macao and Canton, China before heading to Conneticut.
Once in the United States Henry would fall in love with the Gospel
message and soon began to translate the word of God from Hebrew to
Hawaiian! Within a few years Henry mastered several languages and
his wisdom gave him the equivalent of a PhD. today! At the age of 26, Henry took ill and passed away leaving behind a testimony that touched many people. A short time after his death, a book was found that contained his memoirs. As copies were circulated and purchased, it soon led to raising funds for missionaries to come and preach the Gospel to our Hawaiian people as Henry so desired. On October 23, 1819 just twenty days after the Hawaiian people broke the bondage of the kapu system, the brig Thaddeus set sail for Hawaii with missionaries, including four Hawaiian young men, all friends and fellow laborers of Henry. Five months and 18,000 miles later, in late March of 1820, missionaries all Sold Out For Jesus stepped on Hawaiian soil with the Gospel! |
February
17 to February 23, 2008 A
LIFE GIVEN TO CHRIST “For
whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever Today marks a very significant
day for Kanaka Maoli around the world. This is the day when God took
home the very first Hawaiian who became a Christian. On February 17,
1818 twenty-six year old Henry Opukaha’ia slipped out of this life and
entered the gates of glory to be with the Savior he received into his
life. Who was Henry Opukaha’ia you ask? One of the sons of God who
passionately taught and preached about Iesu Christo along the North
Eastern coast of the United States. This was no ordinary person, his
life is a testimony to the miraculous power of a heavenly Father who
indeed watches over His own. Born in the little village of
Ka’u in 1792 on the Big Island, Opukaha’ia was the eldest of two
boys who lived with their parents. He grew up during a time of great
contention, war and change in the Hawaiian Islands. His parents were
brutally murdered by warriors and upon watching this, Opukaha’ia
grabbed his three month old brother, strapped him unto his back and ran
from the warriors. One of the men threw a spear at them which struck the
baby and killed him, Opukaha’ia was eventually caught by this man who
took him home to live with him. Now an orphan, Opukaha’ia longed to
return to family that lived in the Village of Napoopoo, located adjacent
to Kealakekua Bay. The common thought among Christians back then was that heathens were not intelligent to comprehend the gospel, therefore they could never obtain salvation! Opukaha’ia proved them wrong, and after his conversion he longed to return home to minister the gospel to his native people. He challenged a young man with the above quoted scripture upon learning the young man was too afraid to become a missionary to Hawaii. Indeed the words of Jesus were treasures to the life of Henry Opukaha’ia.
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PRAYER FORCE
Leading
With Influence
In
our Prayer Force for this week we will cover the subject called Leading
With Influence. There’s something wrong about seeing a leader who
refuses to live up to their potential and vacillates every time
decisions must be made. Leaders need to take the initiative when given
tasks to do. They must rise up to the occasion and do their best to
complete the assignment. Leaders must realize the power of influence
they have and the importance of succeeding with Joy! Leading With
Influence means that you recognize what’s expected of you, and
those who are assigned to you must see your decision making is
done with confidence and that circumstances don’t
intimidate you!
Leading With Influence is what God requires of we who have
accepted our positions of leadership. It is in these times that we learn
to grow up and grow out. Let me expound on this important
factor. Maturity demands growth, hence we must grow up, not
because of our age, but because we have acquired the understanding of
being responsible and having influence. Those who grow up will
then grow out of negativity, excuses, low self
esteem, bad dispositions, victim mentality and cowardice.
All these culprits will keep you from being able to accomplish Leading
With Influence.
You can always identify someone who is Leading With
Influence because they stand out, they are visible because people
seek to emulate them. Nobody wants to be identified or be with someone
who chooses to lose! Good and great leaders are those Leading With
Influence who are touching and changing lives and situations. I
firmly believe that God wants to have us raise up such leaders and they
are currently in our house! Get out of the dug out, step
out of the on-deck circle and get into the batters box and hit
consistently for our Lord. Leading With Influence should be the
desire of our heart because all that is done is for our Lord and Father
as we are empowered by Holy Spirit. |
February 24 to March 1,
2008 Building
Responsible Leaders “Nevertheless
I tell you the truth; it is expedient (advantageous) for you that I go
away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if
I depart, I will send him unto you.” It is the desire of great mentors,
teachers, coaches and leaders to strive as best as possible to produce
leaders who will be able to continue with the vision and/or goal of
whatever they belong to. In sports, great coaches surround themselves
with like minded coaches that will teach and demonstrate to
their players how they can excel. They are able to take mediocre players
and develop them into all-stars because these leaders know how to
pull out the best in people that
which is dormant. The same holds true in corporations, the CEO
is not intimidated by others if they know who they are, but will
seek out others with potential just like them. Once these people
are found, regardless of their ethnicity, religion or gender, they soon
will mentor these candidates who, should they follow instructions, will
one day be a CEO themselves. Great leaders are confident of who
and what they are because this is a key to their success. Building
Responsible Leaders is the goal of those who have achieved in life
themselves. They are consistently on guard, looking for those who
display potential for greatness. When Yeshua selected His disciples, He knew their strength and weakness. In spite of their personal problems, Iesu knew these men would carry out the work of the Kingdom. Soon many gathered around Him also wanting to learn insights, but it was to those He chose, greatness was poured into. Multitudes ate the meals our Lord provided, but only the twelve were used to hand out and pick up what was blessed! Did they pass the test? Only Judas failed, and he did so just before the class was ending! Building Responsible Leaders can apply to you; does it? |
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